IMO Cassel's natural talent is comparable to many starting Qbs in the NFL. The point is often made that he hasn't played since high school. This is incorrect. He has played a full college season's worth of preseason NFL games. NFL preseason games are at a much higher level than college football. By and large, Cassel has excelled in his preseason opportunities. I expect him to play very well this preseason, and be traded for a mid rd pick before final cuts. IMO people underestimate his value. Tall, accurate, agile Qbs with a USC and Patriot pedigree who excel in the preseason have NFL value, whatever his detractors believe.
It is very hard to judge a Qb when he is called into a game off the bench, cold, with no repetitons during the week. A good example of this Chad Pennington in 2002. In week 2, The Pats slaughtered the Jets 44-7, and Testaverde was benched. Pennignton came in cold (year 3 after he was drafted) in that game and looked awful. Later that season he was given the starting job and played phenomenal football, winning the div title and beating the Pats in Foxboro to do so. Repetitions with the 1st team during practice acclimated him to game conditions and he looked like a completely different, mature QB on game day.
So to judge Cassel off that one Miami performance is foolish. Brady said as much, when it was brought up to him.
That said, I prefer Gutierrez as the back up Qb this coming season. At least he played a full season of college football, although at a lower level. He has all the attributes you look for in an NFL Qb: height, arm strength, mobility, smarts. His college experience gives him the one attribute Cassel seems to lack: calmness in the pocket. Pocket presence is partly innate, partly acquired through repetition with real bullets flying.
Gutierrez looks like he has starting caliber talent in the NFL. He reminds me of that Tampa Bay back up Qb from Toledo, the one Kaczur used to block for, but with more natural talent.
